The interrogation ended quickly, but Solam was not released. Of course, imprisoning him was out of the question. Yetana arranged for him to stay in the ducal palace. Although putting an adult man in the palace of an unmarried Grand Duchess was somewhat... questionable, no one raised any objections.
For one thing, relationships between men and women were very open in Faerun. Never mind that the Grand Duchess was unmarried—even if she were married, no one would gossip if she openly kept a lover in her palace. Finding lovers had never been a man's exclusive privilege in Faerun. Women could do the same as long as they were capable enough.
For another, there really was nowhere else suitable to place Solam. Letting him go? That would have been far too rash. Although there was no concrete evidence proving Solam was the murderer, no one really believed he was one either. Judging by how arrogant he was, if he had killed someone, he would not have been afraid to admit it.
But then again, what if? What if Solam was simply an award-winning actor? Wouldn't letting him go be like letting a tiger return to the mountains?
They could not lock him in prison, and ordinary places could not hold him anyway, so the only option was to keep him in the Grand Duchess's palace. There were experts everywhere here, making it convenient to keep a close watch on Solam. As for the Grand Duchess's reputation? Heh, nobody on the Faerun Continent cared about that sort of thing.
In short, Solam settled into the palace.
Solam was broad-minded and had no resistance to the arrangement. Besides, what was bad about this place? The food was good, the accommodations were good, and the maids were especially beautiful. No hotel, no matter how